NWS Lubbock

1965: What was likely one of the last truly significant and long-lasting dust storms in West Texas engulfed much of the
region late this morning and afternoon. Before this day, the last comparable dust storm of such ferocity struck in April
of 1956 (Note: Storm Data incorrectly lists the last occurrence as February 1956). A textbook Panhandle Hook (deep low
pressure moving southward across eastern Colorado and intensifying over the TX and OK Panhandles before hooking northeast)
generated a large area of high winds with gusts measured as high as 75 mph at Lubbock. The winds whipped up sand and dirt
from the drought-laden regions of eastern NM and West TX to heights billowing as high as <i>31,000 feet</i> as
reported by pilots! This massive cloud of dust reduced surface visibilities to zero at the Lubbock Airport for at least
three hours, although 100 yards was more common in the city. The dust was so thick that street lights in Lubbock turned on
at noon! The dust extended as far east as Fort Worth where visibilities dropped to 3/4 of a mile. The next day, airborne
dust dropped the visibility in Beaumont to two miles! Incredibly, this dust was carried with the parent cyclone as it
moved northeast into Indiana and Pennsylvania in the following days. The areas on the South Plains hardest hit included
Muleshoe, Seminole, Plains and Morton where widespread damage occurred to small outbuildings, plate glass windows, roofs
and expensive advertising signs. Several utility poles in the area snapped under the intense winds and the Lubbock
Avalanche Journal reported several wind-swept wildfires across the South Plains. The ferocious winds caused severe soil
erosion, particularly in the sandy areas on the west side of the southern High Plains and southern Low Plains. In many
areas of the South Plains, tumbleweed were observed passing motorists traveling at highway speeds of 65 mph! To underscore
the rarity and intensity of this dust storm, the rain gauge at Reese Air Force Base was filled with 3.5 inches of fine
sand when checked on the evening of the 25th! Since this storm, improved farming and soil conservation practices greatly
limited the severity and duration of such dust storms.